Naruto: The Chronicles of Apex
by Naruto FF
Summary: Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke start with a new teammate. Join them on their adventures that has love and action. Pre shippuden. Follows the actual story. Oc : Apex. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1: A New Beginning

**Author's Notes: I do not own Naruto! Hey every one this is my first fan fic. Please read and comment. I am happy to hear all comments whether they are good or bed and please correct my spelling. I do hope that you like it and please give me ideas of what to do next.**

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Chapter 1- A new beginning**

A shadow hidden in the mist… Slowly it moves down the dirt trail toward the village of Konoha where its gates are quiet. Not many villagers have left the village and not many visitors have come lately. The mist approaches the gates of Kohana and the guards ready themselves. They have no idea what lies inside of the mist. Then the dark figure begins to take shape. The mist fades away and there a boy stands no older than 12. "Hello there."

The guards follow procedures and take the young boy to the Hokage tower where the 3rd starts to asks questions to the young boy. "So tell me, who are you and why are you here?" said the Hokage.

"My name is Apex, I come from the village hidden in the mist." said the young boy.

The Hokage inhaled some of the pipe and blew out a small puff of smoke. "You do know that we are enemies of the mist village, and we are not very kind toward them?" asked the Hokage.

"That is exactly why I came here. I was exiled from the mist village because they feared me."

"Why would they fear a young boy like you?" asked the Hokage.

"They feared me because of my potential. I arrived at the mist village at the age of 11. As you are aware their test for becoming a Shinobi are rather hard. The usual age that students become Genin is at age 14. This was not the case for me as I became a Genin at age 11, 4 weeks after I came to the village. 5 Weeks after that I became a Chunin. They were very surprised at the skill I showed and thought I would become a valuable asset to the village. That is until I was being promoted to Jonin at just the age of 12. The valuable asset I could be was now turning into someone that can overthrow the Mizukage at the growth I was showing. With this, fear was spread throughout the village and people began to contemplate how to deal with me. They settled with exiling me out of the village. I knew though that if they thought I was a potential threat, simple exile was not enough… I knew they would try to kill me. They sent 3 Jonin Hunters after me. I managed to 'Escape there grasps' by defeating a few and running away from the rest. I realized that if I tried to join a more powerful village like the leaf village I might not be feared."

"Hmm…. I see…. And why should we give you the chance to help us or be here in this village?" asked the Hokage.

"I do not deserve anything from you or this village. I do not know where I come from, but I would like a place that I can call home for once in my life." said Apex not ever making eye contact with the old man.

'_He seems to be disappointed, maybe he needs a second chance. _' "Very well then, you are now considered a citizen of Konoha. I will grant you a place to stay and pay for the expenses until you are able to provide for yourself." stated the hokage.

Apex was at a loss for words. He could have sworn he would be thrown in prison by just showing his face to this village. But this old man showed up something he never has experienced in his life… Compassion. '_Why is he treating me this way? What have i done for him?'_ wondered Apex.

-Time Skip-

Apex was walking down the streets of Konoha exploring his new village before he goes to his new home. Everything seemed so peaceful. Then footsteps were heard and a boy crashed into Apex. Apex and the boy tumbled on the ground for a few seconds, then the Blond boy yelled out "Why didn't you get out of the way! Now they a caught me!" Apex looked around and saw many angry looking villagers surrounding him and the Blond boy.

"Now you die demon Fox!"

-Cliff Hanger-

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**A/N: If you like it or have some advice please comment on me and i will release the next chapter very shortly depending on the feedback i get. Till next time :)**


	2. Chapter 2 : Becoming a Leaf Ninja

**Author's Notes: I do not own Naruto. Never have and Never will. Please rate and comment. I need feedback or else i don't think i can continue this story.**

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**Chapter 2 – Becoming a Leaf Ninja**

"Now you die Demon Fox!" shouted an angry villager that was swinging a giant wooden plank.

The Blond closed his eyes and braced for impact but the hit never came. He opened his eyes and he saw that he was now on top of one of the buildings. He saw the red haired boy looking down at the villagers who were very confused at what happened.

"So why are they after you?" asked Apex.

"I don't know… I've been chased all my life but I guess I started getting used to it." replied the boy.

'There is a strong chakra presence in him… I wonder what it is?' thought Apex. "What is your name?" he asked.

"Naruto… Naruto Uzumaki."

"I'm Apex it's, nice to meet you."

"How did you get us away from those villagers?"

"Ehh… I guess you can call it teleporting. I just decided I didn't want to see you get beaten to a pulp." Apex gave a small grin that was barely noticeable.

"I didn't need your help, I had my own way of handling those people!" Naruto said flashing his fox grin.

"Like closing your eyes and crying after you get beat?" asked Apex.

"WHAAT? No! I'm a ninja and I can handle myself!" shouted the obnoxious blond.

"So you're a ninja huh? I guess the standards for being a ninja in this village are pretty low." Said Apex.

"ARE YOU SAYING I'M WEAK? I'M GONNA BE HOKAGE ONE DAY AND You'll SEE JUST HOW STRONG I REALLY AM! BELIEVE IT!" Naruto screamed. The conversation attracted a lot of attention from the villagers. Apex grabbed Naruto by his arm and started leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

Once they were done roof hopping Naruto decided to ask Apex a few questions. "So where did you come from? I have never seen you around the village before."

"That's because I'm new here. I'm from the mist village."

"What? How did you get in? We are at war with the mist village."

"Yes, but I really am not with them. I only went there because it was the first village I ever ran across and I was only there for about 1 year."

"Oh. Hey are you a ninja? You seem to know how to hop from roof to roof and get away from those villagers."

_'I really don't want this kid to know that much about me._' "Well no, I really don't care about being a ninja." Stated Apex.

"I think you should become one. I think you have enough skill to be a ninja, of course not as much as me though." Naruto said with a superior Fox grin.

"Hmm… I guess I can ask the Hokage if I get instated as a Konoha Ninja."

"Great! I just passed and I'm getting put on my Genin team tomorrow. Can we meet again some times?" asked Naruto.

"Sure we can meet again. I better go talk to the Hokage."

"Alright well ill see yah later Apex thanks for the help!" shouted Naruto as he began running down the street.

-Time Skip-

The next day

"Hello class and congratulations on becoming Genin" Iruku said to his now graduated class. "As of now you are all considered Leaf Village Ninja. I will now give you a moment to talk among yourselves before the Hokage gives an announcement to all of you." after he gave the announcement he sat at his desk to do some more paperwork.

"MOVE NARUTO! I want to sit next to Sasuke so get out of the way!" shouted Konoha's cherry blossom.

"Sakura, come on he's not even interested in you and besides I'm better than him." said Naruto with a foxy grin. But he earned a conk on the head from Sakura.

"Don't ever talk about Sasuke-Kun like that he's the best ninja ever!"

Naruto crawled to another seat making sure to put at least 1 seat of distance between him and the raging pink haired banshee.

"Okay class, settle down. Now then, I have finished putting together your teams." Iruka said.

After announcing the first 6 teams Iruka announced the 7th team. "Team 7 will include Naruto, Sakura…"

Naruto jumped for joy while Sakura held her head down mumbling that she's doomed. "and Sasuke." Iruka finished. Naruto hung his head low mumbling that he's doomed while Sakura jumped for joy. A few minutes later Iruka finished announcing the teams. Then he waited for the Hokage to make his presence.

After a few moments the Hokage stepped inside. "Alright young ones, congratulations on becoming Genin. I see a wonderful future for the all of you. You will become very valuable to the village. Now then I would like you to introduce you a new ninja from another village. He has recently been added to our system and will be placed on one of your teams." said the Third.

"But Hokage-Sama, the teams have already been picked out and all of them have 3 members." whispered Iruka.

"Well then one of the teams will have 4 members in it." replied the Hokage.

"Understood Hokage-Sama."

"Now then, will you please step into the class?" asked the Hokage.

"Yes Hokage-Sama-" a voice from the hall came. Then red hair could be seen as the young boy stepped in. He was wearing a white robe and white pants with red swirls on them and he had 2 Katana holsters on his back with both of the blades sheathed. He had red eyes and a face that could compare to a god but he was only 12 years old. "Hello." He simply said as the class stared at him in awe. All the girls suddenly got red and had huge nose bleeds as they fell back out of their seats. The boy sweat dropped.

"Well young ones, this is…" the Third was cut off by Naruto.

"APEX! You actually became a ninja?" shouted the blond boy.

"Naruto show some respect for lord Hokage!" shouted Iruka and the blond boy didn't say another word.

"Well then Apex-Kun. Which team would you like to be on?" asked the Third.

Suddenly Apex Vanished and appeared next to a startled Naruto.

"I want to be on his team." The red head said.

'_Why would he want to be on Naruto's team? Has he met him before?' _"Very well then as of now you are with team 7." stated Iruka.

'WHAT? Why does Forehead get all the Hot Boys?' thought Ino with steam coming out of her head.

"Alright class, you are dismissed to lunch. After you finish you will meet your Jonin Leader and Sensei. Dismissed." said Iruka.

All the girls began to start staring at Apex. None of them were brave enough to confront him because he was even hotter than Sasuke, which all of them thought wasn't possible. Then one of the girls finally spoke. "H-h-hi... m-my n-name is S-S-Sa-Sakura."

-Cliffhanger-

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**A/N: Thanks for reading please rate and comment. Till next time**


	3. Chapter 3: Team Bonding

**A/N: I do not own Naruto.**

**Hey guys this is my third chapter. Thanks for the reviews and please feel free to give me feedback or ideas of things you want in future chapters. Thank you all who commented, you really helped me out. Thanks again and Enjoy.  
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Chapter 3: Team Bonding  
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"H-h-hi... m-my n-name is S-S-Sa-Sakura." stuttered out the young pink haired girl.

'_NO WAY! SAKURA STUTTERED? THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! SHE DIDN'T EVEN DO THAT WITH SASUKE!' _Naruto thought very jealous of how lucky Apex is to have the attention of Sakura.

"Oh, hi nice to meet you." Apex replied. He then took a glance at Naruto who was now glaring at him. Sakura then took the time to focus and try her best to not stutter in front of the boy in front of her. "D-o-Do you want to hang out during lunch?" '_**PLEASE SAY YES PLEASE!' **_shouted Sakura's inner.

"Sure, after all I need to get to know my new team." Apex gave a small smile that made Sakura's heart start beating hard. '_**OH MY GOD HE'S SO HOT!' **_said inner Sakura with 2 thumbs up.

"Can you wait for us outside Sakura, I want to have a word with Naruto." said Apex.

"Umm… Okay Apex-Kun." she replied. '_Why would he want to talk to Naruto? He can't be his friend, can he?_' she thought.

As Sakura walked out the door she saw a familiar raven haired boy. He was walking right toward her. She gave a small squeal thinking of why he might be coming to her. "Hey Sasuke! Do you want to eat lunch together?" she asked cheerfully.

"No." was his simple reply as he continued to walk right past her. She lowered her gaze to the floor as she was feeling depressed that she couldn't even hold his attention for 5 seconds.

_'Sasuke, why can't you ever see how I feel for you?_' Then an image of a certain red haired boy appeared in her mind. _'This day isn't over yet. I still can have lunch with Apex-Kun_.' She then fist pumped into the air with new hope.

-Back inside the class room-

"Hey Naruto are you okay with me being on your team? I really didn't ask if it would be alright with you." asked Apex.

"What are you talking about Apex? Of course I'm glad you are on my team. Now I can spar with you whenever I want to." Replied Naruto as he gave a fox like grin.

Apex gave a small smile then it changed to a smirk. "So you like the pink haired girl huh?"

Naruto cheeks started to turn red. "Of course not! What makes you think that?"

"Well you were staring at me like she was your girlfriend and you wanted me away from her. It's kind of obvious that you are jealous of how she looks at me or that Black haired kid." Apex stated.

Naruto was starting to turn redder and now he wanted to change the topic. "His name is Sasuke and he thinks he's the best fighter in the class. Of course I'm better than him and I will show Sakura that to!" Naruto then blushed more because of his confession to want to impress Sakura.

"Well let's get going. Don't want to have your girlfriend waiting too long. Besides I want to get a better look at her." said Apex with a small smirk as he started to leave the room.

Naruto gave a quick glare at Apex and followed him out.

-Outside of the Class-

Sakura saw the red haired boy step out of the class room and her heart started beating rapidly just looking at him. "Hi Apex-Kun" she said. Apex gave a small smile as he walked toward her. '_Is he going to walk pass me like Sasuke?_' she wondered.

"Hey Sakura, where you want to eat at?" asked Apex.

"I know a good place!" shouted Naruto as he ran toward the 2.

'_Oh no not Naruto! He'll ruin my time with Apex-Kun._' thought the pinkette. "GO AWAY NARUTO! I'M TRYING TO SPEND TIME WITH MY TEAMATE!" she shouted.

Naruto looked hurt at her words. '_Guess she'll never even consider me a part of the team._' he thought while lowering his gaze to the floor.

"Well I did say I would like to be on Naruto's team so I will go to eat with him. If you don't want to spend time with him then Naruto and I will just go ahead and leave." said Apex rather coldly. He didn't like her attitude toward Naruto especially with Naruto's feelings for her. '_He's just trying to be your friend. When will she be able to notice that_?'** (A/N: don't get the wrong Idea… Apex is straight**.)

Apex started walking away and Naruto was quick to follow. Sakura saw Apex walking away and she wasn't going to let him get out of her reach to. "Wait! I'm sorry about what I said. Can I still have lunch with you Apex-Kun?" she asked. Her eyes filled with hope.

Apex sighed. "Alright, but only if Naruto gets to come." He replied.

"Sure Apex-Kun anything for you!" she said as she ran to him and grabbed his arm. _'Oh boy_…' Apex thought.

As Naruto, Sakura and Apex walked down the small hallways, all the girls seemed to be glaring daggers at Sakura. _'Why would he be interested in her?' 'She has such a big forehead.' 'Dang she's so lucky.' 'Does this shirt make me look fat?' _Were some of the thoughts as the small group walked toward a large tree with a swing on it.

"Hey Naruto, how about we eat here?" asked Apex.

Just the sight of the place made Naruto sad. It was the only place where he could stay during his free time where the kids would leave him alone. Although they would give him cold looks and harsh whispers when they passed by him. Not even one kid asked him if they wanted to play. Not one student even tried to be his friend. All the students followed the crowd and didn't give the young blond boy a chance.

"Okay…" Naruto replied as he never even glanced at the pinkette or the red head.

Apex took notice to this and asked, "What's wrong Naruto? Doesn't look like you like it here."

"Well…" Naruto started then he looked at the pinkette who was looking at him with curiosity. He then thought about what he was about to tell Apex. '_If she hears what I say, she might hate me even more._' "I'll tell you later." he replied.

"Are you sure? You look kind of sad." Sakura said.

'_Wow she actually asked me something without shouting_' Naruto thought while blushing. "It really is nothing Sakura-Chan! Thanks for your concern though." Naruto said with a huge grin on his face.

"Well then. Tell me about yourself Sakura." Apex started as he opened a small bag of chips.

"Sure Apex-Kun. Well I was born in Konoha, and I have never left the village. I like the scent of flowers as I wake up in the morning and sometimes I think about people…" she trailed off and blushed thinking about Apex.

_'Girls..._' "I see… and why did you become a ninja?" Apex asked.

She then fidgeted a little and quickly made up a lie. "I want to better myself and become something valuable to the village and my friends." she answered.

'_Yeah right she just wanted to get close to her precious Sasuke.' _thought Naruto.

"That's very nice Sakura. Now I'm from the village hidden in the mist. I just got to Konoha about 2 days ago and Naruto here convinced me to become a ninja." Naruto perked up hearing his name. "And if you are wondering, I was already a Genin in the mist village so lord Hokage let me be a Genin here as well." said Apex as he didn't want them to freak out that he was about a Jonin Level Ninja.

Sakura really didn't hear that much as she was just staring at the red head boy in a dreamy state.

_'I wonder what it would be like to be his boyfriend or kiss him' _she thought.

"Sakura? Hello Sakura, you there?" asked Apex.

Sakura snapped back into reality and started blushing for spazzing out in front of her crush. "Sorry Apex-Kun I kind of was thinking about something else." she said.

Apex and Naruto sweat dropped. '_Yeah, probably thinking about Apex being her boyfriend._' Naruto thought.

"Well you want to go next Naruto?" asked Apex.

"Sure. Well I'm Naruto and I lik…" Naruto began.

"Okay your lunch break is now over. Please come inside and you will be introduced to your teams leader." Iruka shouted, interrupting Naruto.

Naruto sighed.

"Well you two go on to the classroom, I have to find a restroom." said Apex.

"Okay Apex-Kun." Sakura replied.

Apex then began walking down the hall and around the corner. A few moments later he was confronted by 3 boys. "Hey kid why don't you another place to go. This is our area and you better stay out of It." said one of the boys.

"Well I'm just trying to find a restroom." Apex replied.

"I said get out of our area kid or you'll regret it." one of the boys said again.

"Hey punk I don't care what you said. Now get out of my way." Apex replied.

"Alright kid you asked for it." one of the boys then charged at Apex. He threw a punch which Apex just side stepped and let the kid fall down clumsily. Then one of the boys decided to pull out 2 shuriken and throw them at Apex. Apex didn't even move. He just closed his eyes and sighed. When the shuriken met their target, the boys were shocked beyond belief. Apex had 2 shuriken spinning on 2 of his fingers. He caught them with such ease and wasn't even looking. "you know you can get in big trouble for using these..." Apex said in a cool tone, and the boys begin to get worried as they were trying to act tough and realize just how much trouble they could get into. The 2 boys that were still standing decided to make a run for it as they saw they were not even close to the same league as the red haired boy was in. The one on the ground looked up at Apex in fear and decided to scramble away from the boy. Apex smiled then said to himself. "I still don't know where the bathroom is." he then sighed.

End of Chapter

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**A/N: Thanks for reading you guys and please review. I will try and post the next chapter soon as i can. Till next time =)**


	4. Chapter 4 : Meet your Sensei

**A/N: Well here is the 4th chapter to my story. I hope you enjoy and please comment... i need feedback... it helps alot to hear other people's ideas. (I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!)**

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Chapter 4 – Meet your Sensei**

-Back in the classroom-

"Okay class you will be meeting your Jonin sensei's now." Iruka said to the young Genin. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were sitting in the 3rd row. Sakura saw that there were only 9 Jonin Ninja standing at the front of the room. _'Why are there only 9 Teachers when there are 10 teams here?' _Sakura wondered.

As Iruka was assigning the teams to the Jonin, Sakura and Naruto began to worry at where Apex was. Then Iruka started on Team 7's sensei. "Team 7 you will be assigned to Kakashi Hatake. Unfortunately he is not here at this moment so you will have to wait a little longer than the other teams to start."

'_What kind of loser do we have that he can't even meet his students on time._' thought Sasuke.

'_Come on Apex where are you already?_' thought Naruto.

"Wow I wish he was here on time…" said Apex.

"GAAH!" Naruto and Sakura shouted in Unison.

"WHERE THE HECK DID YOU COME FROM?" Naruto asked.

"Wow Apex-Kun. You are a really good ninja." Sakura said, trying to suck up to Apex.

"Well umm… I kind of just came in through the backdoor." Apex replied as he scratched the back of his head with a small smile on his face. Naruto and Sakura both face planted.

-Time Skip-

"THREE HOURS AND HE STILL HASN'T SHOWN UP! WHAT KIND OF SENSEI DO WE HAVE!" Naruto shouted. "ALL OF THE OTHER TEAMS GOT TO MEET THEIR SENSEI AND THEY ARE OUT TRAINING! THIS IS SUCH A WASTE OF TIME!"

"Naruto, shut up already." said Apex.

"Yeah Naruto your getting on Apex-Kun's nerves." said Sakura. '_**CHAA! THIS LOSER BETTER HAVE AN EXPLANATION FOR THIS!'**_ shouted Sakura's inner.

"Well I have some punishment for him when he comes in." Naruto said and grinned evilly as he picked up an eraser from the chalkboard. He then slid the door room open and placed the eraser in between the door and frame and pinned it there. "Now when he comes in, Surprise!" said Naruto. '_**CHAA! I LOVE THIS KIND OF STUFF!**_' thought Sakura's inner.

"Our teacher is going to be a Jonin. You think that he'll fall for a stupid stunt like that." said Sasuke.

A moment after Sasuke spoke footsteps could be heard. Naruto was waiting with excitement while Sakura tried her best not to look curious but she was failing miserably. Then the door slid open and a head started to come in. The eraser fell and met it's target.

"Haha! He totally fell for it!" Naruto said holding his sides and laughing hard. Sakura wanted to laugh but she would not lower herself to laugh with Naruto in front of the two boys she really liked, so she resisted to urge to laugh. Sasuke sweat, '_And he's suppose to be a Jonin?_' he thought. Apex sighed, thinking how sad his team is.

Then the Cyclops spoke, "Well… My first impression of you all is… You're a bunch of idiots." Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke lowered their head and sweat dropped while Apex just sighed again.

-Scene Change Academy Roof-

"Well then… now let's get to know each other."

"Well what do you want to know about us?" asked Naruto.

"Things you like… things you hate… dreams, for the future." replied Kakashi.

"Well can you tell us about yourself first so that way we can have an idea of what to say sensei." Sakura suggested.

"Who me?" Kakashi asked pointing an innocent finger at himself. "I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like… well I like a lot of things. Things I don't like... I don't really feel like telling you that. Dreams I have for the future… I never really thought about it." The entire team sweat dropped and all thought '_He only told us his name…_'

"Now then you next." Kakashi said, pointing at Naruto.

"Okay. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I like instant ramen in a cup and training as hard as I can. I don't like when people look down on others and think that they're better than them." Naruto said. '_Weird that you don't like that but you think that you're better than every one._' Thought Apex as he sweat dropped. Naruto continued, "And my dream, is to become Hokage and be the best one there ever was! Believe it!" Naruto grinned and Fist pumped into the air. Sasuke looked over to Naruto and gave a small glare as he was annoyed by the blond boy's lively spirit. Apex just gave a small smile that was barely noticeable; While Sakura was just staring dreamily at the 2 boys to the left of her, Apex and Sasuke.

'_He's grown in a way I wouldn't even think possible' _thought Kakashi. "Okay, you next." Kakashi said.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. The things I like or who I like…" she gave 2 blushing glances at Apex and Sasuke. "The dreams I have for the future…" Sakura gave a girlish squeal at the thought of Apex or Sasuke being her husband.

"And what you don't like?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura paused then shouted, "NARUTO!" Naruto face planted to the ground while Apex just sighed.

"You next." Kakashi said giving a glance at Sasuke.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. What I like is none of your concern. I don't like a lot of things. My dream for the future… is to kill a certain someone." Sasuke stated.

'_Gee.. I hope he doesn't mean me._' Naruto thought nervously, thinking about the cold glares that Sasuke has been giving him.

'_Sasuke is So Hot._' Sakura thought.

'Just as I thought' thought Kakashi.

Apex just sighed thinking that Sasuke is nothing but a stuck up loser.

"and you?" Kakashi asked looking at Apex.

"My name is Apex. I like to spend time looking at the sky or nature and playing Shogi. I don't really hate anything but I dislike people that are full of themselves…" Apex then gave a quick glance at the raven-haired boy sitting to the right of him. "I also like helping out my friends. I really don't have any dreams for the future."

"Hmm… well you are an interesting team." Kakashi said, then thought, '_I have a bad feeling about this. I don't think they aren't going to work together all that great.'_

"Well then, now that we got to know each other I will tell you that you are not officially Genin. You passed the test for potential candidates to be Genin but you will have to pass another test before you can officially be part of this squad." Kakashi stated. Sakura and Naruto gasped and Sasuke and Apex just stayed silent. "Meet me at training ground 7. Your test will begin at 7:00 sharp. Oh, and 1 more thing, don't eat breakfast... you'll just throw up." Kakashi said as he made his exit in a swirl of leaves. Leaving three of the four Genin Slack-jawed.

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**A/N: Okay, these first few chapters has been mainly character development. I wanted you guys to see what it would be like if Apex was put inside the Naruto Universe. I promise you guys though that my next chapter will be full of combat and i hope it makes sense to you readers as well. COMMENT! I'm not afraid of anything any 1 has to say. I'm ALL EARS **

**Till next time =)**


	5. Chapter 5: Pass or fail part 1

**A/N: Hello guys, sorry for the wait but i'm trying my best to keep up with school and write this story. I'm happy with the feedback i've been getting from friends but it appears not many people are interested in this fic. I will try to update more but i don't think i will continue if people don't show ant of interest in it. Other than that please enjoy the story. I DON'T OWN NARUTO!**

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Chapter 5- Pass or Fail, a Ninja's last chance (Part 1)**

-The next day, training ground 7-

Sakura arrives at training ground 7 at 6:50 in the morning. She sees Sasuke already standing there with his arms crossed and his back turned to her, but she is too tired to bother him today.

Three minutes later, a drowsy Naruto approaches the spot where two of his teammates stand. He then plops down and begins to drift into and out of sleep. Hours pass as the incomplete team waits for their sensei. Then a familiar figure shows up walking toward the group.

"APEX YOUR 3 HOURS LATE! WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE AT 7:00! FOR ALL WE KNOW THIS COULD HAVE BEEN PART OF THE TEST!" yelled Naruto.

"Well, he was about 3 hours late last time. So I guessed he would be late again. Apparently I was right." Apex stated.

Then Naruto's stomach growled. _'Aww man. I'm so hungry, I haven't eaten breakfast and we have to take a stupid test that our sensei is late to come to.' _He thought. Then Sakura's stomach growled. _'I didn't even eat dinner last night and now our sensei is late. Oh man, really bad time to go on a diet._' She inwardly frowned.

7 minutes passed by as the team waited and then Kakashi appeared. "Hi there."

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura and Naruto shouted in unison.

"Sorry but a black cat crossed in front of me, so I had to walk around." Kakashi said giving an 'eye smile'.

"Well then, now that we are all here. Let me explain your test." Kakashi then took out 2 bells. "Your test is to get these two bells from me. Simple, but if you don't then you will be dropped from the plan… permanently." Naruto and Sakura gasped while Sasuke glared.

"But sensei, there are only two bells and four of us. How do we all pass?" asked Sakura.

"Oh, well since there are only two bells, two of you will fail. This regulates how many students can become Genin. We are sure to eliminate at least thirty-three percent of the students but in this team's case since there are four of you. That is cut to fifty percent. Any question?" All the 'Pre-Genin' stayed silent. "Also, if you are not prepared to attack me with the intent to kill… you won't get a bell."

'_This is going to be impossible… he's a Jonin. We can't possibly match his strength.' _Thought Sakura.

"Ok… ready… go!" Kakashi said as Sakura and Sasuke went to hide.

"A ninja must be able to hide from anything." '_They seem to have hidden very well.'_ Then Kakashi looked a few meters in front of him.

"Alright old man! Right now you and me!" shouted Naruto with his arm's crossed superiorly.

Kakashi sweat dropped and said, "You know you're a little weird compared to the others." Naruto was angered by his comment as he rushed Kakashi. "I'M GOING TO CRUSH YOU!" He threw one punch at Kakashi's jaw which he blocked with ease. Then he swung his leg wildly at Kakashi's head and he just ducked. "Now I got you!" shouted Naruto as he punched at Kakashi while he was bent over. "Huh?" said Naruto as Kakashi just disappeared.

"Don't let your enemy get behind…" Kakashi whispered behind Naruto as he started forming a hand sign. _'That's a fire hand seal. He's not just toying with Naruto… he's going to destroy him.' _thought Sasuke. "NOW, NINJA ART! 1000 YEARS OF DEATH!" shouted Kakashi as his two fingers aimed straight for Naruto's rectum. But the blow never came. Naruto looked over his shoulder and saw Apex holding Kakashi's hand. Then Apex kneed Kakashi in the face. Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke and was replaced by logs. 'Hmm… a substitution.'

"Hey thanks Apex. You really saved my butt." said Naruto with a sheepish grin as he scratched the back if his head nervously. "I guess I owe…"

Naruto was interrupted as 4 shuriken appeared from the tree tops and was heading straight for Naruto and Apex. Apex un-sheathed one of his Katana and blocked all 4 shuriken. Naruto just stood there, shocked at how good Apex reaction was and how fast the clang of metal was heard.

'_Hmm… I wonder how good he really is. Well I can't spend this entire test on just these two.'_ thought Kakashi as he headed for Sakura's hiding spot. Sakura was just staring dreamily at her Apex-Kun and just how skilled he was. Then she a cold hand touched her shoulder and just as she was about to scream a hand covered her mouth. "Mmph!" Sakura mumbled as her mouth was covered.

"Don't yell or you'll give away our position." whispered Sasuke to Sakura's ear. His breath was sending chills down her spine. With him this close, Apex almost didn't matter at the time. Then Sasuke released his hand from her mouth.

"Sasuke-Kun, what are you doing here?" asked Sakura with a small blush on her face.

"Well I just wanted to check where you were since I already know where those two idiots are." said Sasuke somewhat coldly.

'_**CHA-CHING! HE CARES FOR US' **_shouted Sakura's inner.

Sakura and Sasuke both looked out to a clearing in the training grounds. They saw their Jonin sensei standing in the center. They formulated a plan to take him down and get the bells. Sakura would be the first to confront the Jonin and Sasuke would sneak up and deliver the finishing blow. Just as the two made their way out of the bush, there was a large swirl of leaves around the Jonin. Sasuke knew to immediately look away as it was a Genjutsu. Sakura on the other hand was caught deep in it. Her eyes were glazed and in her trance she saw the entire area had darkened.

"Sasuke?" she asked. But what she saw scared her beyond belief. There was Sasuke, crouched down next to a tree with blood coming from almost every inch of his body.

"Sakura... help... m-me..." he mumbled. Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs and in the real world she passed out because of seeing her crush about to die.

Sasuke on the other hand was in deep trouble, as when he took his eyes off of his opponent, he was left vulnerable to an attack. Just as he turned back around to look at his Sensei, a fist was about to strike him in the face. He ducked and tried to deliver a punch to Kakashi's gut, which he blocked with his right hand. Sasuke then hopped on one leg and tried to deliver a kick to Kakashi's head, which he blocked with his left hand. Sasuke then reeled back his other hand to deliver a strike to the other side of Kakashi's head, but Kakashi let go of Sasuke's other hand to block it. Sasuke then smirked and touched one of the bells. Kakashi then pushed off of Sasuke and distanced him self about 10 feet from the young boy.

'_This kid_.' thought the Jonin as he almost got the bells just by himself. Just then Sasuke for hand signs and shouted "FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!"

"What? Genin can't use fire jutsu. It requires too much Chakra, there's no way!"

Sasuke took a deep breath and blew fire out of his mouth toward the awaiting Jonin. Flames engulfed the small area where the Jonin was. As Sasuke stopped the Jutsu, he was very suprised that the Jonin wasn't in sight. If he would have looked closer, he would have discovered a small hole at where his sensei used to be at. '_What the? Where is he?'_ Sasuke thought, but was suddenly dragged into the earth. Ten seconds later the Jonin appeared in front of him. Well i have to admit, you are different than the others. But different doesn't always mean better. The Jonin then casually walked off leaving a boy stuck up to his neck in the ground and a passed out pink haired Genin.

About 30 seconds into his walk, Kakashi felt someone's chakra. He then focused on it and found out that it was being suppressed. '_Hmm... who is that? And why is he hiding his Chakra_' the Jonin wondered. Just then a boy materialized 10 feet in front of Kakashi. "Good luck... sensei." the boy said.

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**A/N: AWW... i'm such a mean person. Leaving a cliff hanger for a 1 on 1 battle with Kakashi. Well if you read the other chapters and know one of the main characters, then you probably know who is about to fight. Anyway please REVIEW and i will be releasing the new chapter as soon as possible.**


	6. Chapter 6: Pass or Fail Part 2

**A/N: Ok readers, sorry for the long wait. My cat climbed my roof, fell down the chimney, landed in the fire and made my entire house burn down. Now i'm stuck in the basement with my 1999 Mac trying to type this story. Ok that's not really what happened but i am taking a series of test to determine whether i go into the next grade or not. Sorry for the wait but i will do my best to keep up. Oh and kelsey, try making an account so that way i can send you messages about why or when the next chapter is coming out. I would also like to thank all the people that are giving me advice in this story. I hope you guys are still interested and please enjoy. **

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**Chapter 6 - Pass or Fail, A ninja's last chance (Part 2) **

"Good luck Sensei..." said the figure just 10 feet in front of Kakashi. Just then Apex made three clones.  
_'Hmm... He made hand signs that fast? Interesting.' _thought Kakashi.  
The 3 clones charged at Kakashi all head on while the original disappeared in an instant. One of the clones threw 4 Shuriken at Kakashi which he blocked with ease. "Normal attacks won't work." said Kakashi.

Then one of the clones attacked Kakashi with a round house kick to the temple which Kakashi blocked then countered with a palm to the chest, dispelling the clone. '_So he can use shadow clones to?' _Then another Apex clone aimed for the exact same spot which Kakashi decided just to skip the block and immediately go for the palm to the chest. He struck the clone, or so he thought until it just vanished._ 'What? A regular clone?' _Then one more Apex found a blind spot and delivered a hard punch to the gut. Kakashi stumbled backwards about two feet, and felt something tug on the side of his pants. _'Oh no, he's going for the bells..._' thought Kakashi. Kakashi then focused Chakra into his feet and sprang up away from the ninja behind him. He looked back and saw Naruto with a frustrated face.

_'Wow, they aren't doing half bad._' thought Kakashi as he landed into one of the tree tops about 20 feet from Apex and Naruto. "Fire style! Fireball Jutsu!" was all Kakashi heard as the tree he was in was starting to flare up right under his feet. _'Oh crap, they escaped and recovered already_?' he thought as he jumped onto the ground and was immediately attacked by 3 Kunai Knives that Sakura threw. He dodged to the left and another fireball came into his path. He jumped up and saw Apex coming down from the top at him. '_Well, this is going to hurt..._' he thought as he prepared for the blow from Apex.

**RING! RING! RING!** The sound of the Alarm had gone off just a moment from impact. Apex stopped the blow and proceeded down to the ground with a swift landing. _'Dammit!_ _We almost had him_' Apex thought.  
_'Wow, saved by the bell...'_ thought Kakashi. As the 4 'Genin Potentials' gathered around Kakashi for their statement of whether they pass or fail, Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke.  
"What the hell! Where did he go?" shouted Naruto.  
"You have got to be joking..." said Apex with a small look of depression.  
"What is it Apex-Kun?" asked Sakura.  
"We weren't really fighting him at all. We were fighting just a shadow clone... he wasn't trying at all." said Apex with a heavy sigh. Sakura and Naruto stood there slacked jawed while Sasuke flinched a tiny bit.

"Very observant of you Apex." said Kakashi behind a tree about 30 yards away from the battlefield. "Now then as you all know you didn't get the bells..." the four almost Genin lowered their heads, preparing for the 'failure speech'.

**-Hokage Tower-**

"A little more difficult? Not one student has ever passed his test Lord Hokage!" shouted Iruka.  
"Yes, but Kakashi has his reason for not passing any of the students. They don't meet up to his standards." said the Hokage  
"Lord Hokage, I must protest. Naruto had the lowest grades of all the passing Genin. With all do respect Hokage-Sama I request that Naruto be taken off of this team and be given a new sensei." said Iruka.  
The Hokage inhaled some of his pipe and replied, "Iruka, the teams have already been chosen. You know very well that it would be to much trouble for me to assign these groups, 'Also it would be a mountain of paper work' "the Hokage mentally added."Besides, have you lost all your faith in Naruto?"  
Iruka lowered his head and said, "No Hokage Sama, I have not lost all faith in him. I just worry about him. He's almost like a little brother or son to me." he said as he trailed off into a whisper at the end.

**-Training ground 7- **

"WOOHOO! YES! ONLY ONE MORE STEP OUT THE WAY UNTIL I BECOME HOKAGE!" shouted an over-joyed Naruto as he flashed his ear to ear grin and fist pumped into the air.  
"But Kakashi-Sensei, I don't understand why we passed. We failed the mission to get the bells." said Sakura.  
"The test was to see how well you work together. All of my previous students failed to get their act together and were working individually to take a bell from me. This could lead to failure of a mission and possible casualties." said Kakashi. "So Congratulations on officially becoming a shinobi. As of now you are all Genin. You will be given 3 days off, when those 3 days are up, you are to report to the Hokage tower where you will be given your first mission as a squad. Well see ya then." said Kakashi with an eye smile as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Sasuke started to walk off toward the Uchia estate not saying a word to his team members. As Naruto saw him going, he immediately asked Sakura, "Hey Sakura! Want to go on a date?" he asked with a huge grin on his face. _'Please say yes!_' he mentally added.  
"Yeah that will be the day Naruto! As if I would ever go out with you." Sakura said with a sneer on her face. Naruto lowered his head in defeat.  
Sakura then turned away and started walking toward Apex. "Do you want to hang out or something Apex-Kun, like a date..." Sakura said in a whisper with a blush on her face.  
"Sakura," Apex sighed. "I have some other things to do, maybe you should take up that offer that Naruto gave you. You do treat him pretty badly, he is part of our team." said Apex, trying his best not to start insulting Sakura for rejected Naruto so coldly.

Naruto began walking away with his hands in his pockets and his gaze lowered to the ground. "Look at him... all he wanted was to take you out for lunch or something and you do that to him? Why don't you try being nice to him for once? Think about his feelings. I'm not saying you have to be his boyfriend or anything, just please take in other people's feelings instead of just your own." said Apex, trying to be polite his entire statement.

_'Geeze, now that he put it that way i do feel kind of bad for Naruto. Maybe if I be nice to Naruto, Apex-Kun may start liking me more.'_ thought Sakura. **_'Then he can be our boyfriend' CHAA!' _**said inner Sakura. "Your right Apex-Kun, I'll start being nice to Naruto more, but can you and I go on a date later on?" asked Sakura.  
Apex sighed in defeat, just hoping that he got through to the pink haired kunoichi. "Sure Sakura, meet me at ichiraku's ramen stand at 7:00?" asked Apex.  
Normally Sakura would hate to go to that place because she couldn't find anything that she might like. But if this was a date with Apex, she would go to the biggest dump in the hidden leaf village as long as her Apex was with her. "Yes, that would be great Apex-Kun." Sakura then saw Naruto going over the horizon and decided to run after him. "I'll see you there Apex-Kun!" she shouted as she ran off to Naruto.

"Guess I better start training. Kakashi-sensei is far more powerful than I expected." Apex sighed. "I must be losing my touch..." he said. _'I guess I should work on getting back in shape so I can get my speed back to where it was._' Apex then did a hand stand and started doing push ups. After about 3 minutes of doing push ups he heard rustling in the bushes about 20 meters in front of him. 'Why won't they just leave me alone? Guess I can have a little fun surprising her.' Apex then proceeded to taking his shirt off as he was getting 'to hot' from all the exercise he was doing and the exercise to come. His body was almost god like for a 12-year old boy. His Abs were well toned and had a 4-pack with a developing six pack, with a nicely toned chest. He stretched a bit giving his 'spy' a better view of his body. He then hopped up onto one of the branches away from sight and went through the hand seals for a shadow clone. Once the clone was made, it hopped off the branch and back down to the ground leaving the real Apex behind.

The figure in the bush focused back on the shirtless Apex, not knowing it was a clone because she was trying hard not to show any signs of her Chakra. But the view Apex was giving her was making it very hard to focus. As she stared she felt a hand on her shoulder. She nearly jumped out of her purple skirt. "What are you doing here?" asked Apex at the startled girl.  
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be spying on you!" she said in a panic, as her face began to get beet red.  
"It's fine. What kind of guy would be mad at a beautiful lady staring at them?" Apex said with a smile as he winked.  
Now the young Kunoichi was turning even redder than before.  
"So what's your name?" asked Apex.  
"I'm... Ino." she nearly whispered with the blush still across her face.

**To be continued!**

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**A/N: Sorry for the long wait you guys. I tried making this chapter in about 15 minutes. I am very happy that i have some readers out there that like this story and thanks to all who have gave me advice so far on this story. I hope you enjoyed this story and i will be releasing the next chapter as soon as possible. Also if you have any questions please make an account so i can respond to your review. 'Cough' Cough' Kelsey 'Cough'. Anyway until next time :)**


	7. Chapter 7: Going out part 1

**A/N: Yeah so umm.I... thanks for the advice. I'm glad to see some people like this story and i'll try to meet with your standards. I must thank everyone that has been there for me and help me make my first story decent =). Please enjoy the next chapter. (Kind of short)  
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**Chapter 7: Going out (Part 1)  
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"HEY NARUTO! WAIT UP!" shouted a pink haired Kunoichi.  
The blond haired boy turned his head slightly so just the corner of his eye could see her running to his side. "What is it Sakura?" he asked in a whisper.  
_'What happened to the Chan? I hope i didn't hurt him too much...' _she thought. "Oh, i was just wondering if you want to go get something to eat right quick." she could see his eyes glitter a little, but his depressed facial expression.  
"Why would you want to go with me? I hope your not asking just because you feel bad for me." he said as his eyes returned back to their full depressed state. "After all, i'm just a loser in your eyes anyway..." **(A/N:OK I know a little to angst but i wanted to try it anyway)**

Sakura felt terrible now. She pretty much crushed one of her teamates. She thought back to all the times Naruto tried to stand up for her, be her friend, just to get a smile his way. But what did she give him? Rejection, Insulting rejection at that. She used to call him a loser, pathetic, he would never be able to become a great ninja like Sasuke would. Now it wasn't him that was the weakest, it was her. She helped the least in their test, and she used to call him weak. She thought about Apex words about how she should try being nice to him for a change. Naruto has been there to help her whenever she needed and she won't even give him one date. _'I'm a terrible person' _she thought.  
Sakura lowered her head and whispered, "Sorry..."  
"Huh?" he asked all the depression leaving his face.  
"I'm so sorry..." tears were starting to form at the corner of her eyes as she kept her head down.  
"Wait, Sakura-Chan, don't cry. I hate seeing you cry." Naruto said, starting to panic at seeing the girl of his dreams starting to cry.  
She slowly raised her head to meet his cerulean eyes. "I treated you so badly. All i did was hurt you. I use to see you at the academy sitting alone and i didn't even say hi. I'm a terrible person..." her eyes started getting redder.  
"No your not Sakura-Chan." said Naruto in a heart-warming voice. As he took a step over to her. He took a small gulp as to what he was about to do. He then lightly hugged her. He prepared himself to get knocked to the other side of the village, but was suprised when she actually hugged back. So he continued, "Your a great person Sakura. The kind of person that I love..." _'Oh no! I can't believe i let that out! Gotta think of something!_' he thought as sweat began forming on his forhead. "Like a sister." he added at the end. _'Phew, dodged a bullet right there, i think she would have killed me.' _he thought.  
'_I guess he doesn't like me the way i thought._' thought Sakura rather sadly, not knowing why she was feeling strange that he didn't love her.

Naruto then reluctantly pulled away, "So, let's go get something to eat Sakura-Chan?" he asked.  
Sakura sniffed then wiped the small tears on the corner of her eyes, she looked up to see his giant fox-grin, "Yeah, let's go Naruto." she said as she smiled at him. '_Your a great person Naruto.'_

**-Back with Apex-**

"So... Ino, what team were you on again?" asked Apex. Looking at the sky.  
"I'm on team 10..." she said, trying desperately to hide the blush across her face, but was failing miserably because of the boy in front of her. "Umm... can you put your shirt back on? Please?" she asked. She really didn't want him to, but she wouldn't be able to contain her blush if he remained like that.  
Apex lowered his gaze to Ino, "Sure? But i thought you liked it." said he with a smirk as he picked up his shirt and proceeded to put it on. After he had put his shirt on he could see that her blush got even worse because of his statement. He chuckled a bit, '_It's pretty funny flirting with them.'_ he thought.  
'_Pull yourself together Ino! You've never blushed while talking to a boy before, not even Sasuke. So what if he's hotter than Sasuke, has a sexy voice and flirts with me...' _thought Ino. '_This is going to be hard...' _

Apex saw that her face was becoming redder with each passing moment. '_Woah, never seen a girl turn that shade of red before. Maybe i over did it.' _Apex looked up to the sky at the sun._ 'Well i guess i can treat her to lunch of something, since it's about 1:00.' _he thought. "Hey wanna grab some lunch with me? My treat." said Apex with a warm smile.  
_'Ok Ino, just say yes and you'll be dating the hottest genin in the village. No big deal right_?' she told herself. "That would be great Apex-Kun." she said but felt her legs slightly shaking.  
He offered his arm out with she timidly hooked with one arm and grabbed with the other. They began walking down the street to Konoha, on a "Date".

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**A/N: PLEASE READ THIS: THE COUPLES HAVE NOT BEEN DECIDED SO DON'T GET ANY IDEAS THAT HIS IS GOING TO BE THE WAY THEY ARE PAIRED. I MIGHT PAIR LIKE THIS, BUT IT'S NOT WRITTEN IN STONE YET. Please R&R. I will try to release the next chapter shortly.**


	8. Chapter 8: Going out part 2

**A/N: Thanks for all the advice and feedback I'm getting. I hope i can keep up to you guy's standards. Please enjoy the next chapter****  
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**Chapter 8- Going out (Part 2)**

"So Naruto, why did you become a ninja?" asked Sakura out of the blue.  
"Huh?" asked Naruto back, confused as to why she was asking that.  
"Well you got interrupted by Iruka sensei when you were explaining. I was interested as to why you would become a ninja."  
"Well umm…" Naruto paused, taking deep thought as to how he would explain it. "Well I wanted to become Hokage so that everyone would have to respect Me." he said.  
"I guess that's a good reason, but if you want everyone to respect you, why do you pull pranks?" she replied.  
"I want to get attention sometimes. It's hard going through life where no one even wants to talk to you. If I pull pranks, people have to pay attention to me. " he said with a grin.  
'_Wow, he's not as dumb as I thought._' thought the kunoichi, "So when you get on my nerves and act stupid around me, your just trying to get my attention?" she asked.  
"I guess you could put it like that…" Naruto said sadly, as he only got on her nerves all this time.  
"Well you don't get on my nerves all the time. Sometimes I see you stand up for me when people talk about me, I really appreciate it Naruto." said Sakura with a small grin.  
Naruto Chuckled, "No problem Sakura-Chan."

As Sakura turned her gaze back to the road in front of her, she saw the worst possible sight in the world. There was her best friend/rival holding the arm of her crush. Ino was with Apex.  
Naruto was still looking at Sakura when he felt a huge amount of Killing Intent coming from Ino. He looked at what Sakura was looking at and decided to keep quiet. He didn't want to get clobbered after finally being able to talk to Sakura like a friend for once in his life.

Ino felt something very bad around her, knocking her out of her dreamy state. She then looked away from Apex and saw Sakura looking at her, steam coming from her head. Ino stuck her tongue out at Sakura, which probably wasn't the best idea.

"INO-PIG! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY APEX-KUN!" shouted Sakura as she quickly closed the distance between her and the blond girl.  
"Back off forehead, he's with me on a date." Ino responded.  
"WHAT?" screeched Sakura her hands on the side of her head.  
"What are you so mad over? It's not like he's your boyfriend. He's going on a date with me and your just going to have to deal with it."  
"He can't be going on a date with you, because later on he's going on a date with me." said Sakura.  
"WHAT? HE CAN'T DO THAT! HE LIKES ME WAY MORE THAN YOU! HE CALLED ME BEAUTIFUL!" said Ino.  
Both of the Kunoichi looked over to see that the young red haired boy they were arguing over had vanished. Even Naruto was gone.  
"NO! WHERE DID HE GO?" shouted both of the Kunoichi.

**-On a rooftop-**

"Why are they so interested in you?" asked Naruto.  
Apex sighed, "I don't know Naruto. Maybe it has something to do with this village. You would be surprised what the world is like beyond these gates. It is a huge responsibility to be a Shinobi. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into."  
Naruto looked up at Apex and gave a confident smile, "I know what I'm getting myself into and I'm willing to do anything to become Hokage. I will be respected by everyone soon believe it!"  
Apex gave a small smile.  
"So what can I do to get attention like you?" asked Naruto, not making eye contact with Apex.  
Apex raised an eyebrow, "Wow, you must really have it deep for her." he chuckled.  
Naruto blushed, "I just wanted to try and impress her or get her to notice me, like she notices you."  
"Well... hmm..." Apex looked at Naruto. "Well that trash your wearing on you has gotta go."  
"What? This is the last thing that has my family's symbol on it. I can't get rid of my last sign that I'm an Uzumaki just like that!" responded the blond.  
"Just put your symbol on some new clothes? Besides, you can keep that in your closet or something if you really want to keep it." said Apex.  
"Well i guess that's alright. So, what do i have to get?" asked the curious blond.  
"Err.. let's go to the shopping district and I will buy your stuff, they gave me a lot of money when i first got here."  
"Wait, i was going on a date with Sakura. Why did we leave?"  
"Because they were arguing and it gets quite annoying. I didn't want you getting in the middle of both of them so i dragged you out before you got clobbered again."  
"But, Sakura said..."  
"Naruto, she's a young girl. She may not mean it when she hits you upside your head out of frustration, but her emotions will get the best of her in the end. You don't need to be there when she gets mad..." '_...and neither do I_.' Apex mentally added.  
"Well let's go, the sooner we get this out of the way, I can get back to my training." said Apex as he began walking down the street of the Konoha, with Naruto not to far behind.


	9. Chapter 9: Apex vs Sasuke pt 1

**A/N: Please read and review, I don't own Naruto and please enjoy the next chapter.**

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Chapter 9 – Uchiha's Past, Apex vs. Sasuke (Part 1)

There was a beautiful sunrise In Konoha. It's residents were sleep, well for the most part. Apex was almost always up early now in this village. He found it peaceful to not have girls breathing down his neck and constantly having to hide in a tree or something just to get away. He looked up at the Hokage Mountain and saw a small figure sitting on top of the Fourth Hokage's head. 'Guess _I'm not the only one up this early…_' Apex started making his way to the mountain. Once he got there, he noticed a stair case going around the heads and toward the back. "Guess this is the way up." He said to himself as he made his way up the stairs.

Once he reached the top, he looked at the horizon outside the gates and saw the sun slowly creeping it's way up past the hills. There was a beautiful orange color that was staining the entire village. Apex then looked at the figure sitting a few meters from him. '_Is that why he loves that orange jumpsuit?_'

"Hey there Naruto," he started. The boy looked over at Apex and gave his trademarked smile. Though his attire has changed dramatically, he still wore that stupid grin whenever he saw one of his friends. "What are you doing up so early?" Apex continued.

"Well enjoying the sunrise I guess," replied Naruto. "What about you?" he asked.

"I was going to go do some training."

"I was going to as well, but I will do it a little later." said Naruto.

"So did you become a ninja because of her?" asked Apex rather bluntly and out of the blue.

Naruto sighed, "No. I did want to get her attention, but I really wanted… needed the respect of the villagers. No one would pay attention to me. I'm the last of my clan just like Sasuke but he gets all the attention and everyone supports him. He is of royal blood and me… I don't even know what I am. That is why I want to prove that someone like me can beat a snake like Sasuke."

"Speaking of Sasuke, do you know why he is so stuck up and distance himself away from us?" asked Apex.

"Umm… I never gave any thought to it. I always thought that he thinks he's better than us." replied Naruto.

"I think that is only half of it. You don't brood all the time if you think you're better than someone. Something is with that kid…" '_And I intend to find out._' Apex mentally added. "Well I'll see you later Naruto, I guess I'll go start on my training."

"Okay Apex, I will see you at our team meeting at two." and with that, Apex made his exit, but not to the training grounds, but to the Uchiha compound.

'_So today I find out more about the Uchiha clan. I wonder how he is connected to the massacre and why did he survive_.' Apex thought as he walked down the streets toward the Uchiha compound. Once the compound came with-in sight Apex sighed in relief, He was starting to get to know his way around the village for once. He approached the front gate and once he entered he just felt a wave of feelings, as if they were attacking him from the air itself. Hate and despair were the main ones attacking him. It was like he could smell or taste it and it really didn't feel good. '_Why would he continue living in this place, I would have left this bad memory a long time ago if I were him._' As he took less than ten steps into the Uchiha compound, he felt cold steel pressing against his neck, mere millimeters from his jugular.

"That isn't a friendly way to greet your teammate, Uchiha." said Apex.

"It isn't like a teammate to go sneaking around on private property." replied Sasuke.

"I suggest you put that away Uchiha, or someone might get hurt."

"Leave… Now." said Sasuke.

"Aww, what's wrong Uchiha? I just got here, I can't even get a friendly hello?" replied Apex jokingly.

"You have three seconds… One… two… Th…" started Sasuke but suddenly found himself swept up off his feet and pinned down under the foot of his teammate in under a second.

'_What the hell? How is he so fast'_ thought the Sharingan user. **(A/n: yes I'm giving Sasuke his sharingan early. It would be the only way to make him a match for Apex.) **

"All I wanted to do was talk." said Apex with a small smile. Just then, Sasuke vanished beneath his foot in a cloud of smoke. '_Hmm… a substitution huh_?'

Suddenly, one shuriken came out of one of the tree tops and straight at Apex's face. He caught it with ease with one of his fingers in the hole in the center of the shuriken. "Oh come on now. It doesn't look right trying to kill your own teammate now does it?" said Apex with a small chuckle. "Listen, if it's a fight you want, then meet me at training ground seven about 10 minutes from now. I'll be waiting, instead of fighting and destroying your compound. Though it would be a good thing for you…" said Apex.

No response came, so Apex took it as his time to leave. He made his way out of the compound and started walking down the street's of Konoha on his way to the training grounds.

**-With Naruto-**

'_Well the sunrise is over, guess I should get to training. I wonder if I could train with Apex. Where is he at anyway? I never bothered to ask him where he trains at. I guess I will go look for him at the training grounds._'

**-Training ground 7-**

A boy wearing a white pants and a white button up shirt with two Katana holsters on his back slowly made his way to the center of the training ground. There was a boy there with a blue jacket and white shirts already waiting for him there. He was sitting on a tree stump sharpening his Kunai.

"I hope you're not planning on using that." said Apex with a small chuckle. He really didn't care but he might as well say it anyway."

Sasuke just looked at Apex. "Do you ever talk Uchiha?" asked Apex.

His response was hand signs, and then he yelled "Fire style! Phoenix flower Jutsu!"

Apex just sighed. _'What do I have to do to get through his thick skull…' _he thought.

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**A/N: Sorry for the wait guys, but focused on school work. I will try to release the next chapter today (3/10/11), but if i can't then i will be releasing it on (3/11/11). Till then =)**


	10. Chapter 10: Apex vs Sasuke pt 2

**A/N: I don't own Naruto! Enjoy the next chapter.**

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-Back in town-**

Naruto was running through the streets of Konoha, trying his best to find his teammate, Apex. He wanted to get some training in with him but he wanted a few more minutes to look at the sunrise himself. He was starting down the street leading to the path going to the training grounds when he looked out of the corner of his eyes and saw his pink haired teammate. He looked down at the clothes he was wearing and gulped, '_I hope she likes it.' _He thought as he made his way to confront the girl of his dreams.

"Hey there Sakura-Chan!" he said enthusiastically about 20 feet away and closing in.

Sakura was looking at one of the market stall and heard the voice of Naruto. She just waited and when she heard footsteps approaching she replied, "Oh, hi Naruto. I was just doing some shopping before I…" she trailed off and stopped talking when she looked up and saw the blond haired boy. His hair was dirty blond, but it was a pure color. He wore a black t-shirt that was sleeveless and ripped showing off a few small muscles he had for a kid. His pants were a burnt orange and he was wearing black sandals. '_What the?_' she thought. "Naruto? Is that really you?" she asked, not sure if this was the same idiot friend of hers. He certainly did look different.

"Of course it's me Sakura-Chan." He said with a goofy smile. "I just decided to buy some new clothes and clean myself up. Do you like these clothes?" he asked, hoping that she would say yes.

'_Oh Kami. Now I'm on a team with three hot guys. Wait, did I just call Naruto hot? Wow, but I can't help it I mean look at him. He is on the same level with Sasuke and not far behind Apex. I better not let him know._' She thought to herself. "Well it does fit you better then that dumb thing you used to wear." She replied.

Naruto chuckled and gave another goofy grin, "Thanks Sakura-Chan. By the way, have you seen Apex?"

"No I haven't' why?" she asked

"Well I just wanted to get some training with him. Might as well make some good use of the time we have off." he replied, "Hey you want to come with me and look for him? I was heading to the training grounds and we might see him there. You could probably use some training as well." he said.

Sakura was still in a bit of shock by the way her friend looked, but she snapped out of it and nodded. They both started down the path toward training ground 7.

**-Training ground 7-**

"Fire Style Phoenix flower Jutsu!" yelled Sasuke, as a stream of fire exited his mouth heading straight for Apex. The red haired ninja responded by sighing and forming a few hand signs. "Wind style, Air bullet jutsu!" as white air bullets flew from his hand (**A/N: I don't like it coming from his mouth, seems strange**) and cancled out the fire jutsu with a small explosion. Sasuke was waiting for the smoke to clear when he suddenly felt a chakra presence right behind him. '_Damn_' was all he managed to think before he was kicked right on the back, bending his spine a little causing serious pain. He flew forward about 12 feet but managed to stabilize himself and turned around only to be greeted with a punch to the gut, he gasped as the wind was almost knocked out of him as he flew back a few more feet. _'I guess i have no choice..._' "Sharingan!" said Sasuke as both of his eyes began to swirl and made the shape of multiple pupils.

_'So this is what the Sharingan looks like eh_?' thought Apex as he contemplated on what move to make next. _'Guess i will continue with Taijutsu'_ and with that Apex dissappeared in an instant appearing behind Sasuke again. He swung his fist at Sasuke's head but he ducked out of the way meer miliseconds from impact. "Hmm?" Apex said out loud as he appeared in front of Sasuke ready to deliver a knee to his face. Sasuke then jumped up and threw a few shuriken at Apex which he easilly dodged. But as soon as he recovered from the Shuriken he saw Sasuke running straight at him. "Is this the best the last Uchiha has? I'm disappointed. How do you plan on defeating Itachi being a weakling like that? Your all alone and won't let anyone in, how pathetic." said Apex but he was answered with a punch to the face which he caught. Then he felt Sasuke's weight change as he was flipping over Apex, Sasuke then got a direct hit to Apex's back. Apex stumbled but recovered very quickly, but he was greeted with a kick to his side. He flinched a bit and Sasuke wasn't letting up on his attacks. He went for a Kunai to end the fight. He rose his hand and was about to deliver the final blow. When he suddenly felt a huge pain right in the center of his place as he was flying back away from Apex. He hit the ground and rolled a little bit until he crashed into a tree stump. He held his face as the burning would not stop, it was like he was getting his face pounded on but nothing was happening right? _'What the hell is this_?' Sasuke thought as he looked over at Apex, or better yet 2 of Apex. 'I should have guessed. It's that stupid Shadow clone jutsu. But why the hell is my face burning so bad.' Sasuke looked closely at the clone that punched him in his face. He noticed his hand was slightly on fire. "What the hell? You can use fire style Jutsu as well?" asked Sasuke shocked at how hard he hit him with just one punch from a shadow clone.

"Uchiha, i told you that you shouldn't be using those weapons on your own teammate." said Apex as he straightened his shirt.

"Shut up! Your no where near my level of power. You don't deserve to be on any team on mine." yelled Sasuke.

"But I'm not the one laying on my ass after just one punch now am I?" retorted Apex, in a superior way.

"That's it your finished!" yelled Sasuke as he got up. "I'll show you an attack you won't survive from." Sasuke began forming hand signs for another fire technique. "Fire style, Grand fireball Jutsu!" he roared as he opened his mouth and a massive stream of fire came out and formed into the shape of a ball that headed for Apex. '_Wow, that's pretty big...I think it will destroy half of this training ground.'_ Apex thought. "Earth style, Earth wall jutsu!" shouted Apex as he planted both his hands firmly on the ground. A massive solid rock of earth rose up and defended against the incoming fire attack. A massive explosion occurred resulting in multiple rock shards falling to the ground. Sasuke was panting heavily, exhausted because he was still working on that jutsu. It required a lot of chakra and he could only perform it a maximum of two times. '_How is this possible? He hasn't even broken a sweat and I'm almost out of chakra_.'

"I see you're almost out of Chakra, Uchiha." said Apex.

'_How could he know that, he doesn't have any bloodline limit that I can see._'

"You would be surprised at what a person's face and posture gives away during a battle. You are slumped over, panting heavily and your showing emotion. That emotion is worry, so it's obvious your afraid your going to lose this fight."

Sasuke growled and pulled out a scroll. He opened it and a puff of smoke occurred. When the smoke cleared Sasuke was holding a giant shuriken. '_Wow, that is just crazy. He plans on attacking me with something that big. Is he really trying to kill me?_' Apex thought as he mentally chuckled.

**-Back with Naruto and Sakura-**

After hearing the massive explosion and seeing a large amount of smoke appearing from training ground seven, Naruto and Sakura both started speeding toward it. "What the hell was that?" asked Naruto.

"I don't know Naruto. I hope no one got hurt." said Sakura running by his side.

They then approached the clearing of the training ground and saw two figures, one was standing and one was slumped over holding a massive shuriken. "Apex, Sasuke! What are you two doing?" Naruto shouted from afar.

"Shut the hell up and don't get in my way! He's going to die!" yelled Sasuke. Angered by how someone could read him like a book. 'No one could understand me, it's impossible!' he inwardly yelled to himself.

"Sasuke, why are you using a weapon like that! He's our teammate! You idiot, your not supposed to use that on a comrade!" shouted Naruto.

"I said shut up dope!" roared Sasuke back to the blond boy.

"No! Your being an idiot! You think your so good just because your the last Uchiha! What is killing your teammate going to accomplish? You think that will bring everyone back? You think that hurting other people is the answer to your problems? Tell me Sasuke!" Naruto shouted.

"That's it!" and with that, Sasuke threw the giant shuriken. It was heading for Apex at first, but curved and was heading straight for Naruto and Sakura. Naruto jumped out of the way seeing the blade coming for him and Sakura. He expected her to do the same. "Sakura! Get out of there!" he shouted. But Sakura was to shocked to move. Her teammate, one of her crushes, was about to kill her. She has tried so hard to make him her friend, but now he attacks her. Her eyes were tearing up as she saw the blade spinning rapidly and heading straight for her. "Sakura!" Naruto yelled, unable to stop the momentum carrying him away from her. When the shuriken got within feet of Sakura, she closed her eyes, awaiting the blade. She could hear the blade spinning, but it didn't hit her. She didn't hear just one object spinning, she heard two! They flew right by her and she heard two loud thumps of metal landing on trees. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Apex standing in front of her, his katana held out in front of him. "Apex-Kun?" asked a startled Sakura.

'_That's impossible! He cut my shuriken in half, and didn't make a sound!_' thought Sasuke. As he stood up into a fighting position preparing for his next move.

"That's enough Sasuke!" yelled a figure from the trees. The entire squad turned and looked but saw no one. Then Kakashi appeared in a swirl of leaves. "I'm disappointed in you. You were about to kill your own teammates over your frustration. I'm beginning to wonder if i should have even passed you." said Kakashi. Sasuke lowered his head. He knew deep down that he wasn't this kind of person. But after all he's been through, witnessing his family die in front of his eyes by the hands of his own brother... It was so hard to not contain his rage.

"Kakashi-Sensei, it's my fault." everyone turned and looked at Apex. "I provoked him to much. I knew about his experience with the Uchiha massacre. I wanted to see how strong he really is, but in my own selfishness, it almost cost Sakura-Chan her life..." he said as he lowered his head in shame. Sakura on the other hand was squealing on the inside thinking how Apex defended her and called her -Chan. '_He cares for us!_' she thought as she mentally fist pumped.

Now Sasuke's rage was building even more. He hasn't even been into the village for more than a week, and he knows so much about it. He understands Sasuke more than anyone has before. Sasuke didn't know how to react to find someone that understands him. So his first impulse was to react violently. There just couldn't be anyone out there that could understand him. His goal in life was to kill Itachi, and that was it.

"You should only train without lethal force. If i see you doing this again, you are both being stripped of your Genin rank and removed from the program permanently. Got it?" said Kakashi with a strict tone. Apex looked at Kakashi and nodded while Sasuke didn't show any signs that he even heard the Jounin. With that, Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Apex started making his way out of the training ground, when he slightly turned his head and said, "We should do this again sometimes Uchiha. Next time though, leave your toys at home." Apex gave a smirk while Naruto ran over to him and walked next to him. Sakura looked at Sasuke, with hurt in her eyes but she ran over the Apex's other side and they made their way out of the training ground. Leaving the Uchiha to his own thoughts.

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**A/N: Ok, don't hate me because i made Sasuke kind of a jerk but it was kind of necessary for me in my story. Trust me there will be a lot of surprises later on in the story. Just stay tuned and hopefully you will like it. Till next time =)**


	11. Chapter 11: D Rank sucks

**A/N: I don't own Naruto. Please read and review! On with the story...**

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Team 7, well three quarters of it anyway, was walking down the streets of Konoha. Silence in the air for the events that just took place on training ground seven.  
'_Why would Sasuke-Kun act like that? What happened before me and Naruto got there?_' thought Sakura as she took a glance at Apex who was a few feet in front of her. When he turned his head to glance at what she was looking at, she blushed and turned away. Although the incident at training ground seven was still troubling him.

'_That clan massacre must of have really got to him... I did take it a little to far, but he just wouldn't talk to any of us.'_ he sighed, _'I guess i better go apologize...'_  
"Sakura, Naruto, I will catch you guys later. I got something else to do." said Apex.  
"Well what..." started Sakura, but before she could finish Apex was already running down the street.

-Uchiha Residence-

'_This is all **his** fault. If he didn't kill off the rest of the clan maybe i could actually have friends...'_ mentally said Sasuke. Yes, Sasuke is not the cold blooded heartless person you all know him as. He keeps that mask of hatred on, afraid to get close to any one. He has a fear that if he gets close, he would lose them and will not be able to accomplish his goal. To kill him... Sasuke let out a sigh of frustration. '_I just don't want to have any weakness before i fight him. I have to contain all outside emotions, including anger. Why can't they just leave me alone and let me train in peace?_' Sasuke then started walking back to the training ground, hands dug deep into his pants.

Apex was sitting on the top of a building watching the young Uchiha make his way back toward the training ground. '_Is he going to go train? I'll try to talk to him again._' Just as he was about to chase after the young Uchiha, he was surprised with a poof a smoke. "Yo." Kakashi said to the startled Apex. "There is a change of plan. Our first mission is scheduled for today, so meet at the Hokage tower in 15 minutes." Just as soon as he came, he was gone.  
"Guess I'll have to wait a bit longer to talk to him privately." Apex said to himself.

-Konoha Street-

'_Why won't he tell me anything? Every time i try and get close, he seems to just push me away. Now that i think about it, Apex is like Sasuke but acts a bit nicer. I hope he is not trying to be my friend just so i don't feel bad. That would make me feel horrible._' Sakura thought to herself.  
"Hey Sakura-Chan!" Naruto said, making his way back to the pink haired Kunoichi after eating at a Ramen stand. Food was still on the corner of his mouth as he approached her. "Kakashi-Sensei told me to tell you that we have to get to the Hokage tower in 15 minutes. Lets hurry! It's going to be our first mission!" he exclaimed. With that he started running as fast as he could down the street blowing away everyone in front of him as a thick cloud of smoke covered his trail. Sakura giggled a bit at Naruto's childish antics. '_Well i guess i better come to_.' so she started her way to the Hokage tower.

**-Time Skip-**

"I HATE CATS!" yelled a scratched up Naruto, as he and his team made their way back to the Hokage tower. "Kakashi-Sensei why do we have to do stupid missions like these? They arn't even missions! They're stupid chores!" this had been the fourth time they went after the same cat. Most of the team was curious as to why the cat keeps on running away. Luckily for them they were going to get to see the owner today when they returned the cat.

"Haha! That's what you get you stupid cat!" Naruto gloated as the poor cat was being crushed by the giant owner. The Hokage proceeded to collect the payment by the owner and started saying a list of D-rank missions which included, Laundry, cutting grass, washing dishes, etc.  
"NO! NO NO!" screamed Naruto. "I'm tired of doing these lame missions old man! Give us a real mission! We didn't become a ninja to wash dishes! I'm a full fledged ninja and i want a ninja misssion!" he said as he turned around, sat down, and stuck out his lip pouting like a child.  
_'He does have a point..._' thought Sasuke and Sakura.  
"Naruto! Have some respect for lord Hokage!" shouted Iruka.  
"So little Naruto thinks he's all grown up huh?" said the third.  
"Well then let me explain how things work..." started the Hokage. **(A/N: Okay you guys know how it goes, the explanation of the ranks of all the mission ranks and such. So i'll do a small timeskip**)

The Hokage looked up after giving his speech to see all of team seven in a small group tuning out the old man. "So at the ramen stand..." said Naruto to the rest of team seven.  
"HEY WERE YOU LISTENING TO ME?" shouted the third.  
"Forgive us Hokage-Sama." replied Kakashi.  
"Anyway, i guess i could give you a C-rank mission." the Genin perked up a little hearing this. "You are to escort a man to wave country. Now then, please enter." with that, a middle aged man came inside the room holding a bottle of beer in his hands. He had horrible clothes on, as if he has been living under a bridge for a few years.  
"This is the ninja that are going to escort me? What kind of misfits is this?" a vein popped on Naruto's head. "What is wrong with you little punk?" asked the man, looking directly at Naruto.  
"LET ME AT HIM! I'LL SHOW YOU WHOSE THE PUNK YOU OLD BUM!" shouted a flailing Naruto being held back by Kakashi.  
"We are suppose to protect the client, not kill him." said Kakashi, while restraining the young blond.  
"You are to leave the village in exactly 30 minutes to escort him to wave country. Dismissed." said the Hokage.

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**A/N: Yes it's kind of filler, but i just wanted to let you know where this story is going. There will be a few story turning events that will take place in wave country so i just released this chapter to let you guys know i'm still alive. Next: Journey to Wave country=)**


	12. Chapter 12: Beginning to Wave

**A/N: I thank all my friends for reading and giving me support on this story. Couldn't have gone this far without you guys. I don't own Naruto, please read and review .****

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"Naruto we don't have time for Ramen right now!" shouted Apex while tugging at Naruto.  
"Wait! No! Please just one bowl Apex! I won't have Ramen for days!" Naruto protested while reaching desperately at Ichiraku's Ramen stand.  
"Apex-Kun if we don't hurry to the front gate, we'll be late." said Sakura.  
"Alright Naruto, your coming whether you like it or not." Apex then let go of Naruto's arm and grabbed his ankle. He then proceeded to drag the young blond boy while he was still clawing the ground to get to the Ramen shop, tears in his eyes.

At the gate, "Hmm… what's taking those three so long?" asked Kakashi to Sasuke, but his back was turned to him. Kakashi sweat dropped, '_Acting cool when no one's around_?'  
Then 2 figures were coming into view down the road, walking fast. When they approached the rest of the squad, Kakashi noticed that Naruto had to be dragged out of the village. "Naruto, why are you being dragged behind? You're the one who wanted this mission the most…" said Kakashi.  
"But Kakashi-Sensei! I love Ramen I need it to grow and get stronger." pouted Naruto as he stood up and dusted off his clothes.

"So, when do we start to wave country?" asked Sakura.  
"Whenever I say, which is now." said their client rather smug like.  
"Hey old bum! We don't have to escort you on this mission! If you want a new escort you can go to a new village!" shouted Naruto.  
"Actually Naruto, he paid for this mission. So once he paid, we have to pay our support, in this case the mission." stated Kakashi.  
"But Kakashi-Sensei." Naruto pouted.  
"We'll be leaving now." said Kakashi as he started down the dirt road.

A few minutes walk outside the village, Apex noticed a small puddle. He looked up and the sky was nothing but blue, not a cloud in sight. Apex then glanced over at Kakashi, who was surprised, but gave him a small nod. As the team walked past the puddle, Apex broke the silence. "Be ready for anything..."  
"Ehh? Why Apex?" asked a rather confused Naruto.  
"Ssh, they're coming." he replied. Just then two figures appeared, coming out of the puddle.  
"What the?" said a confused Naruto. The two figures were linked with a spiked chain, without hesitation, they rushed at Kakashi. They were separated about ten feet apart as they ran to both sides of Kakashi. When they got on both sides, they wrapped the chain around him and both tugged as hard as possible, ripping him to shreds.  
Apex sighed, then mumbled "Show off." as he too was waiting to see what the true targets of these two were. As Kakashi's torn body hit the ground, only Apex knew that he used a substitution jutsu. Then two black clothed assassins then went straight for their client. Naruto was petrified. He has never been attacked by other ninja before. He didn't know what to do. His heart was racing, he wanted to help but just couldn't find it in him to move. As the assassins started closing the distance to Team seven's client, Sakura jumped in front, Kunai drawn. Then a second later Sasuke appeared in front of her ready to fight. As the two assassins got closer and closer, their chain clanging freely behind them, they suddenly were stopped. They both flipped in the air and fell back down into the dirt. Sasuke had a confused look on his face until he looked past the two and saw a Katana stabbed through one of the chain links and into the earth itself.

"What the hell!" one of the assassins shouted as he turned around but was greeted with a fist to his face. The impact of the punch broke him from his connection to his chained weapon and sent him flying back a few feet. The other one was shocked, but felt a huge pain in his gut before his entire world went black, courtesy of Kakashi. The one that was broken from his chain looked at his comrade, unconcious. He looked back at Apex, standing with his hands in his pockets waiting for him to make his next move. The assassin rushed at Apex, who only smirked as he too was knocked unconcious with a simple chop to the back of his neck by Kakashi. He then threw both of the assassins over his shoulder as he walked to a nearby tree and threw them both down before tieing them to said tree.

As the two started to wake, they both flinched at the blinding sun and the figure in front of them. As their eyes began to focus they saw Kakashi staring at them. "Who are you?" he asked.  
"We are brothers from the mist village." they said in Unison.  
"Why are you after him?" he gave a small glance toward their client.  
"He is doing an important task and must be eliminated at all costs." said one of the brothers.  
"We were hired to kill him." said the other one.  
"Hmm... I see... Konoha ninja's are on their way here. So you will be taken to our village and interrogated." with that said, Kakashi made his way back to his team and his client, who was sweating and his facial expression was showing nothing but nervousness. "Okay now. I want answers. Who are you?"  
"I am Tazuna. I am a bridge builder for the hidden mist village." he said.  
"Why are these two chuunin ninja's after you?"  
"I.I..I am building a very important bridge for the better of the village. Please. You must understand, i must complete this bridge." he pleaded.  
"This mission was ranked a C-ranked mission, we were not expecting to be attacked by any ninja. But, being attacked by two chuunin level ninja, this would have been ranked at least a B-rank. Why would you pay a C-rank payment?" asked Kakashi.  
"The land of waves it at horrible times right now... We are being bossed around by a disgusting man, Gato. He owns a powerful shipping industry that our village came to rely on. He pinned us so no matter what, we have to do what he says." Tazuna said.  
"So your village is suffering from an un-stable economic system. You didn't have enough money to pay for a B-ranked mission. What does building a bridge have to do with this?" said and asked Apex. The rest of the three genin looking at him with confusion written over their face.  
"If i finish this bridge, it would connect to the mainland. This will allow us to trade with whoever we please, freeing us from Gato's clutches. Please you must help me. So many are suffering in my village alone. We are surviving on hardly any food." he begged as Kakashi sighed.  
"Let me consult with my team first." Kakashi said as he turned his back and he and Apex both made their way back to the rest of team seven.

"Kakashi-Sensei what's going on?" asked Sakura. Apex smirked because he knew that it would be a long explanation. Kakashi sighed then said, "Apex, why don't you tell the rest of the team what's going on." Apex's smirk turned into a sneer, as he gave a small glare at his sensei. Then he looked at the rest of his team, all waiting for his explanation. He gave a heavy sigh and explained the entire situation which took about five minutes.  
Kakashi then asked, "Well team? Do you want to go through with this?"  
Apex gave a very small nod, Naruto fist pumped into the air, that was a yes of course. Sakura gave a confident nod with a seroius expression on her face. Sasuke just gave his usual "Hn.". _'I guess that's a yes._' Kakashi thought as he sweat dropped.  
"Well then team... guess we are continuing to wave country." said Kakashi. Tazuna heard and gave a smile at protecters.

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**A/N: Hope it was worth the wait, review please. JA-NE =)**


	13. Chapter 13: Demon of the mist

**A/N: Hmm... I'm kind of changing my story on the fly, Oh well hope you guys like it. I don't own Naruto  
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Chapter 13 – The demon of the mist

As team seven and Tazuna began walking on toward his village, the team noticed that the old man wasn't drinking. In fact, he seemed much more comfortable.** '**_Guess he was a bit worried about us finding out about the true rank of this mission._' thought Kakashi, still reading his own little 'Orange bible'.

'_Useless! I was useless!_' mentally screamed Naruto, traveling a few paces behind the rest of team seven. '_I couldn't even lift a finger to help, at least Sasuke and Sakura went to help Tazuna. But me, I couldn't move! I guess I will be a no good dead-la.._' **(A/N: Angst Naruto makes him look cool when he gets stronger)**

"Naruto, just stay focused next time. Don't let it get to you." Apex said giving a small smile toward Naruto.

'_Huh? Can he read my mind or something?_' thought a confused Naruto, but he did feel a lot better that his friend did care for him. He gave a confident nod and caught up with the group.

As time went by, the group stayed silent. The mist was starting to get thicker and thicker. It was getting to the point where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.  
"Gah!" Apex screamed as he clutched his head. He instantly fell to his knees, and started shaking.  
"Apex-Kun! What's wrong?" asked a worried Sakura while kneeling beside him, putting an arm over him for comfort.

-Flashback-

_Eleven year old Apex was running through the trees. Trying his best to run away from his first home he could remember. He had just been exiled out of his village and he knew that they would be after him. He continued through the trees enhancing his speed by feeding chakra to his feet. As he continued, four Kunai went flying mere inches from his head. He ducked behind a tree and waited for his pursuers to get closer. One of his pursuers landed on a tree not far from him.  
"Give it up kid! You're gonna die here today!" he shouted at the direction Apex was hiding._

"_I can make your death quick and pai…" before he could finish a massive explosion happened on the branch he was standing. He jumped to safety onto another branch and came face to face with the boy he was after. "Your finished kid." He slowly took out his Katana, but suddenly, his eyes popped open. He looked down and saw metal sticking through his body. "What the?" he mumbled before he dropped from the branch, dead. The clone of Apex just poofed away, as the real Apex started again through the trees. _

_As Apex got further and further away from the place he once called home, something wasn't right. Instead of the mist letting up, it was getting thicker. 'What is this?' Apex thought to himself as he stopped in a small clearing and observed his surroundings. Suddenly a massive cleaver was flying straight for him. He jumped out of the way and looked up to see a masked man at least 6 feet tall. He was standing on a branch with a young girl by his side. "Guess I missed." the masked man said. _

"_Zabuza-San, why are we after him? If we kill him won't we be helping the Mizukage?" asked the young girl with a small blush on her face for some reason._

"_If we kill him first Haku, we could hold his body for ransom and collect a reward from that idiot. We need to hire more recruits before we kill that scum-bag." responded the masked man known as Zabuza._

"_I see, please forgive us." said Haku with a sad look on her face._

"_Ninja must not show emotion, even if you're a rouge ninja." said a rather calm Apex._

'_Who the hell does this kid think he is?' wondered a rather confused Zabuza."Alright kid, prepare to meet your end." said Zabuza as the surrounding mist got even thicker around Apex, clouding his view from the two figures in the tree._

-Flashback end-

As Apex's mind started returning to the real world, he heard a voice getting louder and louder. Sakura was still at his side calling him while the rest of Team seven and Tazuna were crouched by him waiting for him to wake up from his small trance.

"Apex-Kun! Are you okay? Apex? " asked a worried Sakura.

"We have to leave…" mumbled Apex.

"What? Why?" asked Naruto.

Kakashi's 'eye' went wide. "Everyone move!" he shouted as he pushed Naruto, Tazuna and Sasuke out of the way. A giant cleaver came swirling toward Sakura and Apex. Sakura still had a confused look on her face as the cleaver was approaching from the back of her. Apex then fully snapped out of his flashback and grabbed Sakura and leaped out of the way, leaving the cleaver to swirl past them and stick into the base of a tree a few meters away. Just one look at the cleaver and Apex knew exactly who it belong to.

As Apex and Sakura landed gracefully, Sakura with a shade of pink on her cheeks from her teammates touch, Apex said in an emotionless tone, "Zabuza." as he looked into the trees not far from the clearing team seven was at.

"It's been a while huh kid?" came a voice from the trees. Apex flinched a bit just hearing his voice. He didn't remember much on the day he first confronted Zabuza. In fact, he had almost no memory of the events after he took care of the last pursuer out of the village he left. "I'm going to finish what I started that day." Zabuza didn't even pay attention to the rest of Team seven and Tazuna. In a blink of an eye he was in front of Apex bringing his heel down. Apex dodged to the side, but was directly in the path of a few senbon. He took out of Katana and blocked them all when Zabuza went straight for his sword, removing it from the tree's hold. Team seven was shocked to say the least. Sasuke started running toward Apex for assistance, the same with Naruto while Sakura stayed behind to protect the bridge builder.

After Zabuza got his sword back, he immediately went back to confront Apex but was surprised to feel a large Chakra spike. He stopped in his tracks and looked over to see Kakashi holding his hand close to his chest, holding what seemed like lightning in his hands. "Lightning blade!" Kakashi shouted as he raced over to Zabuza.

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**A/N: Love it? Hate it? Review it and tell me please =). Sorry for the cliffy, my next class starts shortly. Yes i'm typing it in school, even though i'm failing like 3 classes . oh well... Till next time.. JA-NE!**


	14. Chapter 14: Battle in the Forest

**A/N: Hello guys. I'm surprised i haven't gotten even one flame? Am i doing okay?  
To start answering some questions, Yes i made Kakashi use his original jutsu pretty early. This is because i don't like them talking to much and i like action in the story. If Kakashi was serious, he would try his best to protect his team and finish off the enemy quickly. Also Haku is a girl in my story. I don't own Naruto.**

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**Chapter 14 - Battle in the forest**

As Kakashi's jutsu started getting louder and louder, Zabuza was getting more worried. '_His Chakra is so strong, its becoming visible!_' As a last ditch effort, Zabuza put one hand to his chest and raised the other above his head, performing the hidden mist jutsu. The entire battlefield was starting to get even more harder to see through. All of team seven was divided into groups now. Sakura was with the bridge builder Tazuna, Naruto and Sasuke were fighting off some of Zabuza's fellow ninja, Kakashi was trying to find Zabuza through the fog with his Sharingan but was failing since the mist was infused with Chakra making it impossible for him to get a good read on his surroundings, and finally Apex was fighting a young... girl?

-With Kakashi-

Kakashi stopped his lightning blade, as the fog was getting to thick for him to even see Zabuza. Suddenly he felt Zabuza's Chakra spike up, and he dodged to the left as the massive cleaver came down sending a cloud of dirt into the air. Kakashi planted his left foot and spun around to strike Zabuza with his right leg, but Zabuza quickly pulled his cleaver and blocked the attack. He then pushed and sent Kakashi back a few feet before retreating into the fog again, with a silent chuckle.

-With Naruto and Sasuke-

When the mist started to thicken, neither Sasuke or Naruto showed any sign of worry. They both had their backs to each other and got into their stances. As shuriken came flying from both directions, they dodged and were confronted by two enemy ninja. Naruto seemed to be having a little bit of trouble, after all he wasn't that great at taijutsu. Even with that, his shadow clones made for up for it as he was able to hold his own against his enemy. Sasuke on the other hand seemed to be doing fairly well against his opponent. His opponent couldn't keep up with him at all. With one Kunai, Sasuke jumped over his enemy and thrusted his Chakra onto the top of his head. He stopped in his tracks but soon collapsed into a puddle of water. 'A water cl..." Sasuke began to think but his stomach was greeted by a fist sending him stumbling back a few feet. He regained his composure and charged back at the enemy.

-With Apex-

Apex was still dodging senbon when the mist started to get even thicker. He could barely keep up as it was but now it would be impossible to see where the senbon were coming from. '_Not good_' he mentally worried. He started focusing, using his Chakra to heighten his sense of hearing. Now he could hear the faint whistling of the senbon flying through the air. As he heard them coming, he dodge accordingly, ducking and swaying from side to side. Then he heard his attackers voice. "I'm sorry i have to do this to you, but i must do as Zabuza says." said the young girl. With that, she appeared in front of Apex, senbon between each of her fingers as she started swinging at him. Apex dodged, but was caught once on his shoulder, he looked at it and saw senbon wedged deep inside of his shoulder bone, causing said arm to go limp. '_Dammit, she's going for pressure points._' he knew it would take a bit of time and perfect precision to get it out, but he didn't have the time as she was still attacking him. With his free arm, he pulled out one of his Katana and started blocking her, making her a bit more timid when confronting him. When she charged again, this time Apex side stepped and ducked, letting her go by him before he swiped his Katana striking her directly on the calf. She flinched from the pain but quickly recovered as she jumped further into the mist out of Apex's sight.

With that, Apex dropped his sword to his side and sat on the ground. With a heavy sigh, he started focusing onto his wounded shoulder, he steadily placed his hand onto the needle, and slowly pulled it out. He felt no pain once the needle had exited his shoulder, and slowly but surely the life started returning to his arm. He smiled at this, but quickly reached down to his sword and pulled it in front of his face, defending him from the incoming senbon. '_This mist is getting annoying._' he inwardly pouted. Then his head started throbbing as he clutched his head again. For some reason he suddenly remembered a Jutsu. He flashed through many hand signs and shouted, "Wind Style: Powerful Wind Wave!" as he opened his mouth, a giant gust of wind flew out, scattering the Chakra infused fog and causing all the people in the battlefield to raise a hand over there head at the sheer force of the Wind. With the wind stopping, a small "Normal" breeze of wind spread through the entire battlefield as the tension was very thick between the opposing sides.  
'_This isn't good, i had enough trouble with him last time. If he starts remembering those damned jutsu from before, this may not be worth it. The bridge builder will have to wait until next time._' thought Zabuza. "Alright! We'll be making our leave now! Go!" he shouted as he turned into a water and dissappeared from the scene. Haku did the same while the Chunin that Sasuke and Naruto were fighting just made their escape through the trees, Kakashi was hot on their trail.

Naruto and Sasuke gave a glance at each other, then both gave a "Hmph" as they turned away from each other. Sakura saw both Naruto and Sasuke were okay but looked over at Apex who seemed lost, just looking at the ground. He had no visible injuries from his previous fight, but his face was written with confusion. 'When did l learn that? What happened when i fought...' "Argh!" Apex clutched his head again. When Sakura saw this she started running toward him.  
"Apex-Kun what happened?" she asked frantically as she knelt by him.  
As he composed himself he answered, "Every time i try to remember what happened that day... i see eyes..."  
"What eyes?" asked Sakura, as Sasuke and Naruto approached.  
"Eyes like his..." Apex said as he stared at Sasuke.  
Sasuke thought for a moment, and quickly said, "Where is he! Where did you see him!" he demanded.  
"Those eyes... They seemed worse than yours..." Apex mumbled. Then everyone was shocked at what happened next. Sasuke grabbed Apex shirt and held him.  
"WHERE IS ITACHI!" he yelled.

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**A/N: I think i know where this is going. Probably will surprise myself next chapter... Oh well. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Reviews are appreciated. JA-NE =)**


	15. Chapter 15: Bad memories

**A/N: Yay i managed to sneak in another chapter before school starts for me. Also, check out my 2nd Fanfic that i'm working on. Enjoy and please Review =)**

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**-Back at Zabuza's headquarters-**

"Zabuza-San, don't you think we reacted a little too quickly on him?" asked Haku.

Zabuza growled, "I won't stop until that kid is dead."

"But Zabuza-San, he was just defending himself, I'm pretty sure he didn't mean for _those two_ to attack you." said Haku.

Zabuza stood up, "Haku, I'm the demon of the mist. No one should embarrass me, especially someone that stole a one of the seven legendary swords."

-Flashback-

_Zabuza was panting from just a few minutes with the young red-haired boy. 'What the hell is this? This kid should be dead by now… I see why they want him. He could be a threat when he gets older.'_

_During their battle, Zabuza began to notice something strange, the boy had near perfect Chakra control. Having wind style Chakra with perfect Chakra control was very troublesome indeed. Apex could control specific areas of the battlefield, speeding himself up or weakening his opponent's blows. Even with these advantages, Apex was still fighting one of the seven legendary swordsmen of the mist. He was growing tired as well._

"_Zabuza-San, he's faster than me, I'm not sure I can keep up…" said his young Kunoichi student, Haku, as she was in a crouched position._

_Zabuza raised his sword, "Alright kid, let's finish this." as he began to run, he quickly gained speed, as he brought his sword down on Apex, Apex jumped back but instead of Zabuza's sword hitting the ground, it clung against another. Zabuza went wide eyed, before him stood a man with a black cloak, orange clouds all over it, with just a small portion of his blue face showing that had gills on both sides of his cheeks._

_He gave an evil chuckle, "I hope you didn't miss me… Zabuza…"_

_Zabuza's expression changed from shocked to anger in a flash. He focused Chakra into his blade as it began to glow blue and he pressed against the opposing sword, only to feel his Chakra begin to drain. He mentally cursed himself as he jumped back to see his opponents sword glowing the same blue. "What the hell do you want Kisame?" demanded Zabuza._

"_As much as I would love to kill you where you stand, that isn't the reason we came here. We came here for him." Zabuza gave a small nod over to the unconscious Apex. There was another cloaked individual standing above him, with no expression what-so-ever on his face._

_Zabuza gritted his teeth, as he returned his gaze back to Kisame. As he began to raise his sword, he felt a hard pain onto the back of his neck. He was too weak to put up a fight against both Kisame and Itachi. All he could do was simply fade into unconsciousness._

-Flashback end-

Zabuza gritted his teeth, "He must have something to do with those two. Once I'm finished with that kid, then Kisame and that other guy are next…"

Haku nodded in agreement, _'but why do we have to kill him?_' thought a sad Haku.

Then a loud crash came from the door to Zabuza's Headquarters. "What the hell you idiot?" screamed a short grumpy man. "I thought you said this was going to be fast and silent! I swear if you get my hands dirty, I will ma…" the short man stopped as Zabuza had his massive cleaver right by his throat. The short man growled, but stopped his ranting.

"Okay listen here you little shit, I will get the job done. Just give me a little longer and have the money ready. Now get out of my sight before I change my mind and kill you where you stand." said Zabuza while leaking a massive amount of killer intent.

Even with that horrible feeling the short man was feeling, he managed to stand his ground and only glare at the masked swordsman. "Gato-San, your secretary is asking for you." one of Gato's henchmen quickly lied.

"Very well then. Zabuza, finish the job or you can kiss your money goodbye." Gato said before he left, slamming the door behind him.

"Why do we put up with that trash?" asked an angry Haku.

"Because, he has something we want. Once we get what we want, we can end him too." said Zabuza with an evil chuckle.

Haku smiled, then asked "Zabuza-San, where are those two that went with us?"

-Back in the forest-

"Where's Itcahi!" yelled a angry Sasuke, not releasing his iron grip on Apex's shirt.

"Sasuke-Kun! What are you doing?" asked Sakura, in fear of what Sasuke might do.

"Shut up! I want answers, now!" said Sasuke, his anger getting out of control.

Naruto then put an arm on Sasuke's shoulder, "Hey Teme! Get off of him!" but was quickly grabbed by Sasuke and threw over teen feet away. The loud thud snapped Apex out of his 'trance' and was angered by what he saw. He just saw those same Sharingan eyes that he saw a few months ago. Enraged he broke Sasuke's hold on his shirt and in a flash, smashed him into a tree and had him pinned there with the bark splitting down the trunk.

Sakura was at a loss for words. One second her Apex was sitting on the ground, about to get pounded by Sasuke, and the next he was attacking Sasuke. Naruto was in the same boat as Sakura.

"Alright you two, that's enough!" came the commanding voice of their squad leader. Slowly Apex's expression changed from mad, to his calm tone, as he released his grip on the Uchiha, who kneeled on the floor gasping for air. Sakura looked over at Kakashi, his headband was raised showing his other eye. '_The Sharingan?_' wondered the confused pink haired genin. She then looked at his arms, and he was carrying two of the ninja that Sasuke and Naruto were fighting.

Apex looked at Kakashi then looked back at Sasuke. "Forgive me." he said in his usual calm voice. He then offered a hand to the gasping Uchiha who swatted it away.

"Tell… me… Where is Itachi!" Sasuke said as his gasping started to fade. He stood up and glared at Apex.

"I don't think this is a good time fo…"

"Tell me NOW!" Sasuke said sternly as he clenched his fist.

"Sasuke! I said that's enough!" yelled Kakashi again as he finished tying the two ninja to a tree.

Sasuke growled, but decided he would have a deep conversation with his red-haired teammate. He gave a "Hn." as he walked by him. Apex just sighed, annoyed by the rant he was going to get by the last Uchiha later on.

Kakashi saw that his two ninja captives were beginning to stir from unconsciousness. With that, he began his own little interrogation. Tazuna decided to go to Kakashi as he was interrogating, leaving the four genin spread among the small clearing. Apex walked over to Naruto, offering a hand to help him up, which he accepted. They then walked over to Sakura. "Apex-Kun, what was Sasuke so mad about?" asked the confused girl.

Apex sighed, "I think I met his brother a few months ago, in this forest. I don't know what happened, but I do remember his face and his eyes, they were exactly like his. The bad part is, every time I try to think back, I just get headaches and can't really remember anything. I have no idea what they did, but I also remember some weird blue guy with a huge sword like Zabuza. They were talking about something before I was knocked out."

"Why were you out in the forest?" asked Naruto.

"Err… I was leaving the village." replied Apex.

"Why?" asked Sakura.

Now Apex was starting to get annoyed by the questions, "I will tell you guys when we get back to the village okay? Right now let's just focus on the mission for now." said Apex, as he began walking to Kakashi. Sakura was worried about him, but she too started her way over to Kakashi. Naruto looked over to Sasuke, who had a black cloud over his head and was glaring at anyone who dare look his way. Naruto gave a nervous chuckle as his face twitched and he began running to Apex and Sakura.

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**A/N: Sorry for the long wait guys, but i'll keep trying to keep up. Thanks for reading and please review =)**


	16. Notice

**Okay guys i'm taking a bit of a break with this Fanfic. I don't know why but i just can't think of anything right now.**

**I will probably update this story sometime next week, if you guys want you can check out my other Fanfic i'm working on "Hate is Painful" happy to all reviews and thanks with being patient with me. =)**


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